Shares in virotherapy biotechnology company Viralytics have risen 85 per cent over the year to date, and 97 per cent in the past 12 months. With a market capitalisation of about $36 million, the company has developed technology that works by introducing a group of viruses to cancer cells in order to disrupt the cell and trigger an immune response. Side effects are minimised by specifically targeting only cancer cells, something current treatments like chemotherapy cannot do. Last week the company was granted a Chinese patent for the use of its Echovirus type 1 (EVATAK) for the treatment of ovarian cancer. It adds to patents already granted in the US and Australia for the same product. Viralytics is recruiting for phase II trials of its CAVTAK product, which uses an alternative targeting mechanism to the EVATAK treatment, and the first patient is expected to be injected with CAVTAK before the end of the year. Phase 1 safety trials are in progress in Australia.